7 Answers
7

I thought spandex shorts looked weird too, until my wife bought me a pair with the padding. Now, I can't ride in regular shorts at all!

The shorts with padding help protect your sensitive groin parts, as well help keep you cooler and drier (preventing nasty sores) by wicking the moisture (sweat) away from your body. There's no binding or rubbing in the wrong areas, and all your jiggly parts are held securely in place.

And a big, important point about bike shorts - you wear them without underwear.

Jerseys also come in tight and loose fitting material - I personally prefer the loose-fitting jerseys (I'm not exactly skinny enough to wear the tight jerseys). Other than the moisture-wicking they provide, they also come in extremely visible colors, which is nice when you're out riding by yourself, especially if visibility is low.

I do not thinking the Spandex part is necessarily the wicking part, but since they are thinner the moisture more easily moves around.
– geoffcAug 25 '10 at 20:14

2

@Johan - clarified: I thought the shorts looked weird. My coworkers still make fun of me when I come in wearing my shorts, but they don't have much to say when I point out that my butt isn't sore after riding in because of them!
– Jared HarleyAug 25 '10 at 20:44

2

I much prefer wool over Lycra for form-fitting or loose cycling clothes. It doesn't smell even after multiple sweaty rides and breathes much better than most fabrics I've worn. Added bonus: wool garments are usually less garish and logo-bedecked. So, my answer would be there is no benefit to Lycra!
– Adam HollidgeAug 25 '10 at 23:11

1

If it's padding in the shorts you want, you don't need to go with spandex. There are bike shorts you can buy that have the padding, but otherwise look like regular shorts. I suppose you can wear them without underwear, too (if you want) but I don't do that (TMI, I know).
– Dan MouldingSep 11 '10 at 22:14

If you don't like the way they look (and frankly, no man looks good in lycra shorts), you can wear a pair of lycra shorts with baggy shorts (or trousers) over the top - that way you still get all the comfort benefits with none of the style penalties.

There are no pockets in cycling pants, and no belt loops either. I wear old "around the house" pants on top of cycling pants.... I mean, where does a Real Man hang his leatherman when riding?
– Criggie♦Jan 7 '16 at 23:55

Depends on whether you want respect at the LBS or every other place you go into. I'm cut-offs, T-shirts, and tennies. I like going past the dudes that spent more on their clothes than I spent on my bike. Sure, I look like a construction worker that's lost his driver's license but I don't wear 420/tie-dyed either. Misdirection and a contrarian streak. As soon as someone says 'you gotta...' I'm gone, and it is cheaper. Clothes might make THE man but they don't make a man. Go to a ski resort and look at the people coming off of the ends of the 'bunny runs', they've got all the fancy stuff. "Just do it."

The first few years of bike commuting, I was all about cotton shorts and shirts. I thought lycra looked stupid, and was a waste of money. Then I tried some lycra shorts. What a difference. My stuff didn't get chafed or squished on the 15km ride to work. I kept cooler and drier. Totally worth it. I always wear lycra bike shorts now (the padding and hold-stuff-in-place ability are essential for comfort).

For those who aren't thrilled at dropping a bunch of money on expensive lycra shorts that look weird and make you uncomfortable, there is an alternative! You can buy liners that do all that same amazing stuff (moistore wicking, bottom-padding, gonad-compressing) at a fraction of the price. For example these: Men's Cycling Liners I'm sure there are other alternatives, from other sources. These will let you keep your baggies and have 90% of the benefits of $100 lycra shorts :)